From Charitable Giving to Strategic Philanthropy – The Advisory Board Makes An Impact
Today’s post is written by Yvonne Siu, marketing manager, A Billion + Change.
Imagine receiving a new brand identity your nonprofit could use to launch a rebranding of your organization – for free. Or imagine engaging a team of your best and brightest employees to research and create a pitch presentation for a high-performing charter school – with 24-hours notice.
These are just two examples of the creative ways that The Advisory Board Company, a global research, consulting and technology firm, has found to engage its employee base in skills-based volunteering during its Week of Service this October. From Oct. 1-5, the company is mobilizing almost 2,000 employees to volunteer approximately 3,500 hours across the country and around the world. Activities include traditional volunteer work, like partnering with Meals on Wheels to feed the elderly and working with Montopolis Preserve on clean-up efforts, to doing marathon sessions of strategic pro bono projects for Achievement Prep, a top-rated charter school, and New Futures, a nonprofit that offers financial and mentoring support to low-income youth in Washington, D.C.
“We’re proud that we can utilize the unique talents and skills of our employees – many of whom are passionate about social issues – to drive high-impact change in the education and healthcare sectors,” said Graham McLaughlin, senior director of the Advisory’ Board’s Community Impact Program.
On the third day of the company’s Week of Service, a young and energetic marketing team presented a new logo and tagline they had developed for New Futures during its “Branding Blitz.” Their creativity and passion were evident, and were matched by the surprise and excitement of the nonprofits in the room.
“Once again, we are amazed at the talent and enthusiasm the Advisory Board brings to their philanthropic work. The Branding Blitz was an incredible experience for New Futures. Each of the logos is absolutely beautiful. I have no idea how we’ll ever choose just one. ” said Liz Daley, director of development at New Futures. It comes as such a welcome contribution, as funders generally want to funnel their support directly to our programmatic work, which can’t support our marketing and operational needs.”
Another project in the firm’s “Branding Blitz” was a pitch presentation and brand identity guidelines created for Suited for Change, a nonprofit that provides professional clothing and ongoing career education to low-income women. “We were so overwhelmed by the depth of the Advisory Board team’s understanding in under an hour of the challenges we have been facing, words fail us… but not them,” said a representative from Suited for Change.
The Advisory Board, A Billion + Change pledge company, is one of hundreds of businesses nationwide that are having this kind of impact. One by one, companies are undertaking a strategic shift from charitable giving and “hands-on” volunteering to more skills-based, pro bono support for the social sector. Support like this is exactly what nonprofits need the most right now, as research shows that the value of pro bono projects in areas such as general operations and professional services can be 500 percent greater than the value of traditional volunteering. Skills-based volunteering is also becoming a strategic talent management and talent development tool for many businesses looking to recruit and retain the best employees.
At A Billion + Change, we encourage businesses of every size and across every sector to ask themselves: How can we lead change through service? How can we give back to our communities in meaningful ways? If you’d like to learn more about what others are doing, visit A Billion + Change’s website and consider taking the A Billion + Change pledge. You can, like the Advisory Board, engage your employees and make a deep impact on the social sector through the power of pro bono.
American Volunteers Debut Their Video about the 2012 National Conference on Volunteering and Service
, Aaron Frumin, Brendan Gordon, and Michael Ward who are hoping to make a reality TV show (think somewhere between Anthony Bourdain’s ‘No Reservations’ and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition). Their show would follow the trio across the country meeting the individuals that are getting things done through volunteering/service and exploring the cities they live in. For example, a New Orleans episode might start with volunteering with
in Chicago. It’s a little raw (PG-13 for language) but you can’t help but be excited by the way American Volunteers present volunteering and service. The video features nice cameos from the AmeriCorps Alums team, a great introduction to the diversity of individuals who serve, and
fully-covered-in-sweat from serving at the Seed for Change project!
The American Volunteers guys have been working hard pitching their show to network executives and are hoping to bring the story of volunteerism to national TV in the near future. These Alums want to showcase the opportunity and excitement young people have around service and how it can enrich one’s lifestyle and travels. Many of those featured in the video are young adults who are passionate about making a difference and bust the stereotype that the Millennial generation are lazy, self-centered, and disengaged with their community.
Hasbro generationOn Clubs Start-Up Grants
Three Quick Steps to Youth Service Funding
Early funding can make or break a youth service club. In fact, a lack of seed money is often the biggest obstacle kids and teens have to overcome when they want to make their mark on the world. Thanks to Hasbro, generationOn is making it super-easy for young people to get new service groups off the ground.
GenerationOn is giving out 50 start-up grants of $300 each to support newly registered generationOn Clubs as they complete their first service projects.
Submit a short online application by Nov. 15, 2012.
Clubs that receive grants must complete and report back on at least one service project before May 31, 2013.
To learn more about generationOn Clubs and the start-up grant program, click here. Access the generationOn application here. Applications are due by Nov. 15, 2012.
News and Recaps From the Clinton Global Initiative
The Clinton Global Initiative annually convenes a community of global leaders to forge solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges. The mission of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) is to turn ideas into action.
I am convinced that cooperation, not conflict, will define this century
— President Clinton, 2012
Here are the highlights from the conference last week:
The Social Good Summit was this past week; such a great conference bringing together change agents and leaders all over the globe to share new initiatives and ideas. Here is a compilation of highlights from mashable, bloggers, YouTube and Pinterest we found over the internet.
Philanthropy is about using the resources you have at your fingertips to improve the world.
–@MelindaGates
The Internet is allowing for us to really experience people in some of the most distant places in the world — as other people just like us. So get to know people, seek out bloggers from a country you’re kind of curious about. It’s about building empathy and breaking through to the point of recognizing people as people.
Social media is just the tool. We–the connected people of the world–are the agents of change.
–@gatesfoundation
Have other blogs, news, videos, or photos you want to add to our list? Share in comments!
Change Notes: Target Builds Brighter Futures
Friends,
Target believes that every child deserves a bright future.
Since 1946, Target – a longtime partner to Points of Light – has given 5 percent of its income to support and enrich the communities it serves. Today that equals more than $3 million every week to support education, the arts, social services and volunteerism, plus a commitment to contribute $1 billion for education by the end of 2015.
As part of its commitment to education, the company has built innovative programs – such as School Library Makeovers – to help more U.S. kids read proficiently by the end of third grade. These programs help kids learn, schools teach, and parents and caring adults engage.
In fact, Target recently concluded Give With Target, a wildly successful back-to-school campaign that donated $2.5 million to 100 in-need schools while giving $2.5 million in Target GiftCards® to local schools that received votes via a Give With Target Facebook application. More than 31,000 schools nationwide will be receiving a Target GiftCard as part of this campaign.
Target’s community investment also includes a six-year partnership with Points of Light and a major role at our Conference on Volunteering and Service, serving as presenting sponsor of the Excellence in Education track that provides programming focused on innovative, citizen-driven solutions that are making an impact on the challenges of America’s K-12 education system.
At this year’s Conference in Chicago, Target brought together leaders including U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Corporation for National and Community Service CEO Wendy Spencer and CNN’s Soledad O’Brien to discuss how service can be a powerful mechanism in the classroom and after school to support the education of students. The session addressed how public service and volunteerism can allow the full community to have a hand in shaping the education of today’s youth and, by extension, the future of America’s workforce and its place in the global community.
Through its Conference session, Target inspired and equipped attendees to better address the issue consistently ranked most important to America today – education – and provided new strategies to tap into the power of volunteers to resolve our education crisis, increase graduation rates and improve students’ academic performance.
Target and Points of Light have also joined together on a variety of cause-related efforts including leadership support and promotion of National Volunteer Week, the initial launch of Target’s nationally recognized School Library Makeover program and the I WILL 9/11 10th anniversary education programming that engaged tens of thousands of teachers and youth.
Target is a Points of Light Leadership Partner, recognized for its commitment to corporate service and its leadership in showcasing the value created through employee volunteer programs. Points of Light’s Leadership Partner Program recognizes and engages companies and business leaders whose social responsibility investments have resulted in significant advancement of its mission to inspire, equip and mobilize people to take action that changes the world.Change Notes: Target Builds Brighter Futures
In service,
Michelle Nunn
CEO, Points of Light
Be A Hero For Our Heroes This Holiday Season
We are passionate about bringing you cool campaigns that are doing good and making differences in people’s lives. Sears and Rebuilding Together are doing good for the military community.
Thousands of active-duty soldiers will be away from home this holiday season and here is one way you can help make the holidays a little easier for the men and women who serve our country. Donate in a Sears store or online now through Nov. 16.
This program distributes 100 percent of donations back to military families across the country. The Wish Registry gives deployed service members a chance to send their love home by providing the means for them to purchase practical gifts such as clothes, toys and holiday decorations.
Through the generosity of Americans who have donated to date, Sears has raised more than $17 million dollars and helped more than 83,000 families since the Wish Registry launched five years ago.
Want resources for other ways help the military families in your community? Find community solutions to help combat challenges military families face at the Community Blueprint.
September Staff Volunteer Mulching at Zoo Atlanta
Today’s post is written by Shaketia Robinson, the Intern and Volunteer Services Coordinator for Points of Light. A graduate of American Intercontinental University, Shaketia holds a Bachelors of Arts in Business Administration with a concentration in Management.
Here at Points of Light we believe strongly in practicing what we preach! Every month we indulge in a service project with a local nonprofit. This month our Atlanta staff had the pleasure of volunteering with Zoo Atlanta.
Our staff group was hosted by the horticulture department, a friendly, fun-loving bunch of people who really care about their work and the animals they attend to. They guided us in mulching the primate exhibit, which is a task that is performed at least twice a year. Mulching is extremely important to maintaining a healthy enclosure landscape. Mulching not only looks nice, but it adds nutrition to enrich the soil, helps to retain moisture, protects soil from erosion, and helps prevent weed growth.
We were a little overwhelmed as we walked up and saw a huge pile of mulch and several shovels, rakes, and wheel barrels. The task, at first glance, seemed as if it would take forever. The first pile was the hardest, as we all realized just how out of shape we were. And, just as we thought we were finished, they brought us a second pile! Luckily, Points of Light staff are champions and we knocked out both piles in less than two hours. Even though it was hard work, we really enjoyed ourselves.
After we completed our mulching duties, we had the pleasure of watching the primates enter the exhibit. It was fulfilling to know that we played a small part in their enjoying what we called the “monkey’s playground”. As an extra treat Zoo Atlanta gave all volunteers free time to explore their remarkable zoo. I think I speak for us all when I say it took us right back to childhood. We walked around in amazement looking at all their incredible animal exhibits and appreciating the endangered species they house. The zoo is not only a great place for the animals but for the Atlanta community as well, a place for students to visit the animals they learn about in real life.
These monthly volunteer projects are important to Points of Light’s overall service culture. The service days allow us to live out our organizations mission in a very personal way.
When I served on Disaster Response assignment with AmeriCorps *NCCC in 1998, I had no idea that I was starting on the Emergency Management career path. That one month on assignment in the San Francisco area was an amazing experience. Helping with their flood response in the area of logistics taught me about all of the coordination that is needed in a disaster response. I learned to drive a forklift, helped provide supplies to the larger response, and even helped with client casework.
Shortly after leaving NCCC in 2001, I moved to Dallas to take a position with the American Red Cross as a logistics specialist. In this role, I was given the opportunity to manage the National Preparedness and Response Corps program and supervised 28 AmeriCorps Members. I was in this role when Hurricane Katrina hit and helped to manage the second largest sheltering operation the American Red Cross has ever conducted (the largest was in Houston during that time). The highlight of my Hurricane Katrina experience was seeing my AmeriCorps Members in action.
This response took place just three days after their training. They serve tirelessly for several months in extreme situations (primarily sheltering and logistics). I remember one 19 year old member who conducted training to a room of more than a hundred volunteers while standing on a chair so everyone could see her. Though they were a newly formed team, the members consistently checked on each other and encouraged one another. I am convinced that is how everyone managed to get through that difficult time.
Now I support the American Red Cross as a part of the Mass Care Task Force. The Mass Care Task Force is a partnership that was formed after Hurricane Katrina. The Chief Executive Officers of the American Red Cross North Texas Region, The Salvation Army DFW Metroplex Command, the North Texas Food Bank and the Volunteer Center of North Texas decided, “We can do better”. In a large disaster the American Red Cross will shelter, the Salvation Army will feed, the North Texas Food Bank will provide food and the Volunteer Center of North Texas will manage spontaneous volunteers. All parties doing what they do best.
I work for the Volunteer Center, developing the volunteer intake and management process. This means working with the unique culture of each participant organization in order to honor their risk management practices and specific needs. This process will allow spontaneous volunteers to serve in a variety of roles more quickly and effectively. During Katrina, I felt a lot of the same frustration that the community felt in that they did not know how to serve and there was no clear process. The best part is that this model can be used outside of North Texas because each of the partners have corresponding National Organizations who have pledged their support of the initiative.
In addition to my professional role, I serve as the Chapter Leader for AmeriCorps Alums North Texas. I firmly believe that AmeriCorps Alums are uniquely suited to support disaster response in their local communities, due to their experience in serving others and working with volunteers. I encourage all AmeriCorps Alums to get involved.
The first step is to get personally prepared; getting together with family, close friends, neighbors, and other important people to plan what you would do in case of disaster. Fires happen, floods happen, tornadoes happen and you need to know how best to deal with those situations when they arise. This can include creating a communications plan to let people know you are safe, putting together a supply kit with essentials you may need, and identifying hazards in your home or neighborhood you could mitigate to make yourself safer. There are a multitude of websites that you can use, including Good and Ready.
The next step is to find a way to support your community when disasters occur. I am a firm believer in the Citizen’s Corps programs. Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) are very specific to an area and connect you with the best resources and other people in your area who want to help. The training is pretty interesting and includes hands on components. People also have the option of connecting with local disaster response organizations like the American Red Cross. There is something out there for everyone.
AmeriCorps Alums of North Texas is actively pursuing a relationship with local AmeriCorps programs and our state commission, the One Star Foundation, to provide training support for currently serving AmeriCorps Members and Alums. It is our hope that all individuals who what to help in times of disaster know exactly what to do and where to serve.
September is National Preparedness Month – it’s a great time to make sure you and your family know what to do in the event of an emergency. Whether it’s an earthquake, severe weather, or a flu pandemic, it’s important to have a plan for how to respond when disaster strikes.
We are trying to make it easier for everyone to get prepared for an emergency with our Good & Ready campaign. In partnership with Ready.gov, American Red Cross and the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes, we’re preparing individuals, families and communities for emergencies and offering training and resources on how to recover after an emergency.
While we know an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, we’re sweetening the pot just a little bit. When you make a pledge to get Good & Ready and report back on it, you’ll be entered to win a $500 gift card from Target that you can use to help get prepared for an emergency or donate to your favorite nonprofit!
You can take the Good & Ready quiz to find out how much you know about emergency preparedness, too! When you take the quiz, you’ll be entered in a quiz to win a ReadyBox to use as part of your home emergency preparedness kit.
There’s a great opportunity to bring community members together and get trained coming up soon, too. The Resilient Response Community Engagement Exercise series is designed to provide individuals an opportunity to bring neighborhood residents together to work through the various preparedness actions and response activities. On September 25, the exercise deals with community response to a flood.
Taking part in the exercise is another great way you can get a chance to win a $500 gift card from Target. All you need to do is tell us about your experience with the exercise and you’ll be entered!
As part of its commitment to education, the company has built innovative 
and after school to support the education of students. The session addressed how public service and volunteerism can allow the full community to have a hand in shaping the education of today’s youth and, by extension, the future of America’s workforce and its place in the global community.
